Garment press



1957 R. E. CAMPBELL ETAL 2,399,453

GARMENT PRESS Filed Feb. 7. 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet l v JNVENTORSI and F ll Ia E (AIM/@6121! War/ .2. Rinse.

06L 9 1957 R. E. CAMPBELL EI'AL 2,809,451

' GARMENT PRESS Filed Feb. 7. 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 1957 R. E. CAMPBELL ETAL GARMENT PRESS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 7. 1955 INVENTORS, Well/n I? (I: BY Hal-r3 D.

United tates GARMENT PRESS Rollin E. Campbell and Harry B. Forse, Anderson, Inch; said Campbell assignor to said Forse The present invention relates to garment presses and, more especially, is of particular advantage in connection with so-called body presses which finished the entire body of a garment such as a shirt in two or'more lays. This type of presses usually comprises a stationary padded buck upon which the garment to be pressed is laid, and a press head which in cooperation with said buck performs the pressing or finishing operation.

The primary drawback of most of the heretofore known presses of this type consists in that quite some skill is required to hold the garment in tight smoothed-out condition until it is tightly clamped between the press head and the buck. Realizing that the operator has only two hands by means of which he can simultaneously pull the garment in two opposite directions only, it will easily be visualized that even with skilled operators, it cannot be avoided that from time to time one garment comes out wrinkled due to the fact that at the very time the press head closed down on the buck, the operator exerted uneven or too great a pulling force on the garment. This is a particular setback and makes the repressing of the garment necessary when the wrinkled portion is the bosom part of a dress shirt.

In addition to the above-mentioned drawback, the laying process, i. e., the placing of the garment in proper condition takes too much time with the heretofore known garment presses of the above-mentioned type if wrinkling is to be avoided as far as possible. In an efiort to remedy this situation, it has been suggested to employ a clamp in form of a wire which extends across the garment within the area to be pressed thereof, and remains within said area throughout the pressing operation. The drawback of such an arrangement, however, consists in that the wire clamp leaves a mark on the garment, thereby impairing its appearance.

Therefore, it has been proposed to employ garment clamps outside the pressing area of the press head. This last arrangement, however, has the drawback that in the fir t place the buck must be longer than the press head. In the second place, the garment clamps are useless when the garment to be pressed is shorter than the press head.

it is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a garment press which will overcome the abovementioned draw-backs.

it is another object of this invention to provide clampir means for use in connection with a garment press of abovementioned type, which will hold garments of any size in properly clamped position and will leave no mark on the garment after the pressing operation.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a garment press with power-operable means which will secure the position of the garment on the buck once the garment has been placed onthe buck in proper condition for pressing.

it is still another object of this invention to provide a garment press with power-operable fingers which will at the will of the operator hold down the properly laid garment on the buck and will automatically withdraw atent from the garment at the very instant the press head is about to apply the actual pressing pressure on the garment so that the garment will be finished without any marks thereon.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a garment press with power-operable clamping fingers, which will allow operation of the press selectively with or Without err'ective operation of the clamping fingers while still permitting the use of the entire pressing surface of the press head.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly from the following specification in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates a side view, partly in section, of a garment press having incorporated therein the holding mechanism according to the present invention, said garment press and holding mechanism being shown in their fully retracted positions.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to that of Fig. 1 but showing the holding mechanism in its intermediate state, i. e., on its way to its effective or holding position.

Fig. 3 is a side view, partly in section, of the press of Fig. 1 showing the holding mechanism in its efiective or garment-holding position while the press head has not reached yet its closing or pressing position.

Fig. 4 shows the press of Fig. l with the holding fingers or" the holding mechanism withdrawn from the buck while the press head has fully closed upon the buck.

Fig. 5 shows a portion of the press of Fig. 1 turned by Fig. 6 is a section along the line VIVI of Fig. 5, but on a scale larger than that of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 illustr tes a part of the lower portion of Fig. l on a scale somewhat larger than that of Fig. 1.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the holding elements and their connection with each other for the holding fingers proper.

Fig. 9 shows the heating circuit for the press head and the buck.

Fig. 10 illustrates the pneumatic circuit for the press shown in the drawings.

General arrangement The primary feature of the present invention consists in the provision of holding fingers, preferably in form of fiat leaf springs, which at the discretion of the operator can be brought down upon the garment placed upon the buck of the press so as firmly to hold the respective garment portion on the buck against accidental displacement. Preferably the holding pressure holding said fingers against the garment is, however, such as to allow any straightening out of the garment portion below the fingers by a strong pull in whatever direction it may be necessary.

The holding fingers are controlled by a preferably pneumatically operated mechanism. The arrangement is such that actuation of said mechanism for moving the fingers into their effective or holding position is controlled by the operator at his discretion, whereas the subsequent withdrawal of said fingers from their holding position is controlled by the movement of the press head through the intervention of a linkage system connected thereto and is automatically efiected when the press head is about to apply its pressing or finishing pressure upon the garment.

While the holding fingers and actuating mechanism therefor may be used in connection with body presses of various types, a particularly simple and efiective construction is obtained when employing the holding fingers and actuating mechanism therefor in connection with a press of the type set forth in U. S. patent application,

3 Serial No. 464,399, filed October 25, 1954 now Patent No. 2,728,152.

Structural arrangement Referring now to the drawings in detail, the press shown therein comprises a frame generally designated 1 which carries a support 2 having mounted thereon a suitably padded buck 3. This buck serves to receive the garment to be pressed. Extending from the bottom portion of frame 1 on one side thereof is an inclined upright 4 while a second shorterupright 5 extends upwardly from one of the braces 6 of the frame. The two uprights 4 and 5 pivotally support at 7 a rocker arm generallydesignated 8 having two spaced arms 8a, 8b (Figs. 1, 5). The front end of the rocker arm 8 is pivotally connected at 9 to the front portion of a pressure lever 13 which has the press head 11 journaled thereon in any convenient manner. The other end of the rocker arm 8 is pivotally connected at 12 with a member 13 fixedly connected to and forming an arm of a cam member 14. The cam member 14 has a slot generally designated 15 with a first cam surface 16 and a second cam surface 17. The arm 13 constitutes a toggle link' of a toggle leverage mechanism the other toggle portion of which is formed by a link 18 (Fig. 4). One end of the link 18 is pivotally connected at 19 (Fig. 3) to the arm or toggle link 13 while the other end of link 18 is pivotally connected at 2% to an arm 21, the pivot 20a of which is held stationary but can be adjusted by a rod 20b and handwheel 24. 0 (Fig. 3). Guided in the slot 15 for engagement with the cam surfaces 16 and 17 is a roller 22 carried by that end of the pressure lever 10 which is remote from the press head 11. Also pivotally connected to the last mentioned end of the pressure lever 10 is a member ..3 having its lower end engaged by one end of each of two oppositely located springs 24. The other ends of said springs 24 are engaged by a bracket 25 connected to the frame 1.

The lower end of the member 23 has connected thereto one end of a piston rod 26, the'lower end of which carries a piston 26a (Fig. 5), which is reciprocably mounted in a fluid pressure cylinder 27. The cylinder 27 which is supported by a bracket 28 connected to the frame 1 communicates with a conduit 29. The springs 24 continuously urge the member 23 downwardly to thereby urge the roller 22 into the lower end of the cam surface 16. This brings about an upward tilting of the pressure lever 10 about the axis of the pivot 7.

Pivotally connected to the pivot 12 are suspended arms 30 (Figs. 1 and 5), each of which has suspended therein one end of a spring 31, the other end of which is anchored in the bracket 25. The springs 31 continuously urge the rocker arm 8 to tilt in clockwise direction with regard to Figs. 1 and 4 about the axis of the pivot 7 which constitutes a fixed pivot. In order to soften the clockwise and counter-clockwise rotation of the press head 11 and of the associate leverage mechanism during the first closing and the last opening phase of the press, there is provided. an adjustable shock absorber 32 of any standard type which is carried by a bracket 33 connected to the frame 1. The arm 34 of the shock absorber 32 is pivotally connectedat 35 to one end of a connecting rod 36, the other end of which is pivotally connected at 37 (Fig.4) to the cam member 14. Thus, when the cam member 14 is tilted in clockwise or counter-clockwise direction depending on whether the pressure lever moves in counterclockwise or clockwise direction, the arm 34 of the shock absorber 32 will be moved in clockwise or counterclockwise direction.

Pivotally connected to the pressure lever 10 by means of the pivot 38 (Fig. 5) is a manually operable handle 39, the right-hand end of which (with regard to Fig. 5) is arranged for actuation by the operator, whereas the other end of handle 39 has hooked thereto one end of a connecting rod 40, the other end of which is hooked 'nated 42.

to an car 41 of a valve actuating member generally desig- The actuating member 42 is pivotally connected by means of a pivot 43 to an ear 43a carried by the frame 1. As will be seen from the drawing, the actuating member 42 carries a roller 44 arranged for cooperation with a cam bar 45. The lower end of the cam bar 45 is pivotally connected by means of a bolt 46 to the brace 33 while the upper end of the cam bar 45 is engaged by a spring 47, the other end of which is connected to re 43 having one end thereof anchored in frame 1. The cam bar 45 is provided with two cam 7 surfaces 49 and St for cooperation with the roller 44.

The valve actuating member 42 is furthermore provided with two cam surfaces 49 andSfl for cooperation with the roller The valve actuating member 42 is further more provided with two stems 51 and 52 for cooperation with valves 53 and 54 respectively. The arrangement is such that when the actuating member occupies the position shown in Fig. 5, the valve 53 is opened, whereas the valve 54 is closed by means of a spring pertaining thereto. When the actuating member 42 is tilted so that" the roller 44 engages the cam surface 49, valve 53 is closed, whereas valvev 54 is opened. In order to relieve the stems 51 and 52 and the valve pins actuated thereby from undue shock, an -abutment.55, which is preferably rubber padded, is supported by the upright 4 and arranged so that-it will abut either the lower bar 56 or the upper bar 57 whenever the actuating member 42 is in one of its ctfective positions. As will also be evident from the drawing, the spring 47 will at all times hold the cam bar in engagement with the roller 44 thereby properly arresting the actuating member 42 when the roller 44 engages either the cam surface 49 or the cam surface 50.

Frame 1 has furthermore connected thereto an ear 58 (Fig. 7) which has pivotally connected thereto by a bolt 59 one end of a fluid pressure cylinder 60. Reciprocably mounted in the cylinder 60 is a piston 61 with a piston rod 62, the free end of which is pivotally con- 7 nected at 63 to a bolt 64 which preferably adjustably engages a tubular member 65. is rigidly connected to a bent rod or finger holder 66. One end of the holder 66 is pivotally connected at 67 to a link 68 which in its turn is pivotally connected to an car 69 of the frame 1. The upper end of the holder 66 (Fig. 8) carries the fingers 70 which are preferably in the shape of flat leaf springs. The holder 66 (Fig. 8)

is rigidly connected through a connecting member 71 Q garment supporting surface of the buck 3 so that the center of curvature of the contour of the said garment supporting surface is located approximately on the axis of the pivot 67 when the latter occupies the position shown in Fig. 3. In such an instance, the center of curvature of the garment supporting surface of buck 3 coincides with the pivot axis about which the holder 66 swings back when withdrawing the fingers from buck 3. The contour of the fingers 70, a preferably conforms to the contour of the garment supporting surface of the buck to facilitate the sliding withdrawal of said fingers from the buck.

It should also be noted that while in Fig. 8 the fingers 70, 70a are shown as rigidly connected to the holders 66, 66a, they may, if desired, also be adjustable relative to said holders.

The tubular member 65 (Fig. 7) has rigidly connected thereto an ear 72 which pivotally supports a link 73 carrying at'the lower end thereof a roller 74 for coopera tion with a cam 75 having a cam surface 76 and a cam surface 77. Also rigidly connected to the tubular member 65 is an ear 78 through which extends an adjustable abutment 79 in form of a screw.

The tubular member 65 Pivotally connected by means of a pivot 80 to the connecting rod 36 is a hook member 81 which is preferably adjustable as to length. This hook member is arranged for cooperation with a roller 82 (Figs. 1 to 5) carried by an arm 83 of a bell crank lever 84 (Fig. 7) which is pivotally connected by pivot 85 (Figs. 3-4) to the upright 41-. To limit the pivotal movement of the hook member 81 about the pivot 80, the pivot supporting the roller 52 also supports an L-shaped abutment member 96. The lower end of the bell crank lever 84 has adjustably connected thereto a hook 86 arranged for cooperation with a roller 87. The roller 87 is carried by a member 88 (Figs. 1 and 2) connected in any convenient manner to a foot pedal 89 which is pivotally supported at 99. The foot pedal 89 carries stems 91 and 2 similar to the stems 51 and 52 of Fig. 5 for cooperation with valves 93 and 94 respectively. In the position shown in Fig. 3 of the foot pedal 89 the stem 92 opens the valve 9%, while the valve 93 is closed. A spring 95 continuously urges the foot pedal 89 to turn in clockwise direction with regard to Fig. 3 so as to cause the valve 94 to close and the valve 93 to open. It will be appreciated that when the foot pedal 89 and the hook S6 occupy the position shown in Fig. 3, the hook 36 catches below the roller 87 thereby holding the foot pedal 89 in the position shown in Fig. 3.

Heating circuit The heating of the press head 11 and buck 3 may be effected in any convenient manner electrically by arranging electric heating units in said press head and said buck. if desired, however, the rear side of the press head 11 may be provided with a steam inlet 110 (Fig. 4) adapted by a flexible hose to be connected to a steam supply. From the inlet 110 there extends a steam channel in the press head across the same, then along the front portion of head 11 and finally again across head 11 to the outlet connection 111. The outlet 111 is connected by means of a flexible hose 112 to an inlet connection 113 of buck 3, which connection 113 is connected to steam channel means in buck 3. These steam channel means lead to an outlet 114 in buck 3.

Pneumatic circuit Referring now to Fig. 10, the pneumatic circuit shown therein for the press described above comprises a supply conduit 97, a pressure adjusting or pressure control valve 98, a gauge 99 and a speed control valve 100. The setting of valve 109 will determine the speed at which the pressure determined by the setting of the pressure control valve 98 will build up in the cylinder pertaining to the circuit. Connected to the valve 100 is a conduit 161 from which branches off a conduit 102. The conduit 191 leads to that portion of the circuit which controls the operation of the press head actuating cylinder 27 and comprises the normally closed valve 54, the normally open valve 53, the valve actuating member 42 and a normally open speed control valve 103.

The branch conduit 1432 leads to that portion of the circuit which controls the cylinder 60 and comprises the normally closed valve 93, the normally open valve 94, the foot pedal 89 and a normally open speed control valve 1%.

Operation It may be assumed that the press occupies the position shown in Fig. l and that a garment has been placed on the buck 3. In order to press the first portion to be finished of the garment, said portion is held by hand on the buck in smoothed out or nearly smoothed out condition. Thereupon the operator steps briefly on and then withdraws his foot from the foot pedal 89 so that the foot pedal tilts into the position shown in Fig. 2. When the foot pedal 89 reaches this position, the hook 86 by its own weight tilts about the pivot 85 and catches below the roller 87 thereby retaining the foot pedal 89 in Fig. 2 position. As a result thereof, the valve 93 which constitutes the exhaust valve closes while the valve 94 constituting the inlet valve opens. Pressure fluid admitted through conduit 97 (Fig. 10) now passes through conduit 101 and from there through conduit 102 and the now open inlet valve 94 into the cylinder 60. The pressure fluid entering the cylinder moves the piston 61 (Fig. 7) against the thrust of a spring 195 toward the left with regard to Fig. 7 thereby causing the piston rod 62 through the intervention of the members 64 and 65 to tilt the holder 66 about the pivot 67 while simultaneously causing the roller 74 on the link 73 to move upwardly along the cam surface 76, Due to this upward movement of the roller 74 on the cam surface 76, the holder 66 in addition to its tilting movement about the pivot 67 also carries out an upward movement which is made possible by the link 68. Fig. 2 shows the holder 66 at its maximum tilting angle and lifted to its highest point.

As soon as the roller 74 has passed the crest of the cam surfaces 76, it rolls downwardly on the cam surface 77 with the result that the holder 66 drops down by its own Weight while remaining in its tilted position. Consequently, the fingers 70, a noW clamp down on the garment portion to be finished so that the respective garment portion is firmly held against the padded buck. The operator can now survey the position of the clampeddown garment portion in order to scrutinize whether said garment portion is in proper smoothed-out position. If it should not be in such position, a strong pull on each side of the garment will eliminate any wrinkle while that end of the garment immediately adjacent the operator may be slightly pulled with one hand. The garment is now in proper position for the actual pressing operation. In order to carry out the actual pressing operation, the operator pulls down the front end of the handle 39 (Fig. 5) so that through the intervention of the rod 46 the valve actuating member 42 is shifted about pivot 43 in counter-clockwise direction with regard to Fig. 5 from its Fig. 5 position into a position in which the roller 44 engages the cam surface 49. In this position the exhaust valve 53 is closed while the inlet valve 54 is open. As a result thereof, pressure fluid now passes from conduit 101 through the now open valve 54 and connection 29 into the cylinder 27. Through the intervention of the member 23, the piston rod 26 now tilts the rocker arm 8 together with the pressure lever 10 in counter-clockwise direction with regard to Fig. 3, which latter shows the press head 11 approachin its closing position. As will also be seen from Fig. 3, the clamping fingers are still holding down the garment portion to be finished. During this movement of the press head 11 from Fig. l position into Fig. 3 position, the connecting rod 36 has like- 7 wise turned in counterclockwise direction with regard to these figures and thereby has lifted the hook member 81 from the position shown in Fig. 1 into a position in which the hook practically engages the roller 82 (Fig. 3) carried by the bell crank lever 84. It wi l be appreciated from Fig. 3 that the cam roller 22 has not quite reached the crest between the cam surfaces 16 and 17. During the next phase of the continued counter-clockwise movement of the press head 11, i. e., before the roller 22 starts moving on the cam surface 17, the hook member 81 will lift the roller 82 and will turn the bell crank lever 84 so as to unhook the hook 86 from the roller 87. At the instant this occurs, the spring returns the foot pedal 89 into Fig. 4 position in which the outlet valve 5 3 is opened and the inlet valve 94 is closed. Consequently, the fluid will escape from the cylinder 6i), while the spring will return the piston 61 into Fig. 7 position, thereby causing the ravity or weight of holders 66, 66a to return said holders to their Fig. 1 position. In order to avoid a shock-like backward movement of the holders 66, 66a into their starting position, an additional spring 1% is interposed between the cylinder 69 and an abut- After the garment portion has been pressed, the operator gives the handle 39 a slight push upwardly, thereby tilting the valve actuating member 42 back into Fig. position so that the exhaust valve 53 will again open and the inlet valve 54 will be closed. Consequently, the fluid is released from cylinder 27, which action is aided by the springs 24. The springs 24 effect the first opening phase of the press head 11 and together with the springs 31 finally return the press head 11 into its fully opened position shown in Fig. l. The garment may now be positioned for pressing of the second portion thereof while the press is again operated in the manner described above.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular construction described with reference to the accompanying drawings but also comprises any modifications within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In combination in a garment press: a supporting member for supporting a garment to be pressed, a press head movable selectively into engagement with a garment on said supporting member, first actuating means operatively connected with said press head and operable to convey pressure upon said press. head while the latter is in engagement with said garment to thereby press said garment, holding means movable into the path of said press head for holding said garment in engagement with said supporting member prior to the engagement of said garment by said press head, second actuating means drivingly connected with said holding means for moving the same into garment holding position, third actuating means drivingly connected with said holding means for withdrawing'the latter from said garment engaging position, and means drivingly connected with first actuating means and in response to a predetermined position of said.

first actuating means making said second actuating means inefiective thereby causing said third actuating means to withdraw said holding means from between said press head and the garment on said supporting member.

2. In a garment press having a frame, a supporting member for supporting a garment to be pressed, a press head movable selectively from an open position into closing position and vice versa, power operable means operatively connected with said press head and operable to convey finishing pressure to said press head, the combination of: a controlling member movably connected to said power operable means and controlling the movement of said press head, garment holding means operable selectively to move from anineffective position outside the path of said press head into engagement with a garment on said supporting member for holding a portion of said garment within the path of said press head against said supporting member, a link, a first pivot pivotally connecting one end of said link to said frame, a second pivot pivotally connecting the other end of said link to said garment holding means, and means movably cormected with said controlling member for automatically bringing about a withdrawal of said holding means from the garment on said supporting member in response to a predetermined closing stroke of said press head.

3. In combination in a garment press: a frame, a supporting member supported by said frame for supporting a garment to be pressed, a press head movable selectively into and out of engagement with a garment on said supporting member, holding means movable into the path of said press head and into engagement withsaid garment-to hold the. same against said supporting member prior to said head closing down on said garment and linkage means 'havingone end pivotally connected to said frame and having its other end pivotally connected to said holding means, cam meanssupported by said frame, and control means supported by said holding means and cooperating with said cam means for controlling the movement of said holding means.

4. In combination in-a garment press: a frame, a

, buck supported by said frame for supporting a garment to pressed, a press head movable selectively into and out of engagement with a garment on said buck, holding means including holding fingers movable into the path 7 of said press head for engagement with said garment to to bring about engagement of said garment by said fingers,

actuating means for moving said press head into engagement with said garment, and means operatively connected with said actuating means and arranged automatically in response to a predetermined position of said actuating means to bring about a withdrawal of, said fingers from between said press head and said garment.

5. A garment press according to claim 4, in which the surface of said buck is slightly curved, and in which the contour of said holding fingers corresponds to the curvature of said buck to thereby facilitate the withdrawal of said fingers from said buck.

6. A garment press according to claim 4, in which said fingers are formed by leaf springs.

7. In combination in a garment press: a frame, a

supporting member supported by said frame for supporting a garment to be pressed; a press head movable selectively into and out of engagement with a garment on said supporting member, holding means movable from a position outside the path of said press head into the path of said press head. and vice versa for respectively holding said garment against said supporting member and withdrawing said holding means from said garment prior to said head closing down on said garment, linkage means interposed betweeen and pivotally interconnecting .said holding means and said frame, said linkage means contprising a stationary pivot supported by said frame and a movable'pivot' interconnecting said linkage means and said holding means, said movable pivot being tiltable about said stationary pivot to thereby allow said holding means to effect a combined movement about said movable pivot and said stationary pivot to thereby permit said holding means to move into the path of said press head into a position spaced from said garment and subsequently to move to a lower level for engagement with said garment, and means responsive to a predetermined 'position of said press head during its closing operationv to bring about a withdrawal of said holding means from between said press head and said supporting member.

8. Incombination in a garment press: a frame, a supporting member for supporting'a garment to be pressed, a press head movable selectively into and out of engagement with a garment on said supporting member, actuating means for actuating said press head, holding means arranged for engagement with a garment on said supporting member, linkage means connecting said holding means with said frame, power operable means operatively connected with said holding means and arranged to tilt said holding means into an intermediate position in which it is spaced from said press head and said supporting member whilebeingin the path of; said press, head, first. C011,

trol means operable automatically in response to said holding means reaching said position to bring about lowering of said holding means from said intermediate position into engagement with a garment on said supporting member, return means continuously urging said holding means to move out of the path of said press head, and second control means responsive to a predetermined position of said press head during the closing operation thereof for automatically making said return means eifective to withdraw said holding means from said garment prior to said press head closing down on said garment.

9. In combination in a garment press: a frame, a buck supported by said frame for supporting a garment to be pressed, said buck having a curved garment engaging surface, a press head movable selectively into and out of engagement with a garment on said buck, holding fingers movable into the path of said press head for engagement with said garment to hold the same against said buck prior to said head closing down on said garment, supporting means carrying said holding fingers at one end thereof, link means having a first pivot connecting said link means with said supporting means and having a second pivot connecting said link means with said frame, power operable means for actuating said supporting means, cam means supported by said frame and arranged in cooperation with said power operable means to tilt said supporting means about said first pivot and to tilt said link means about said second pivot to thereby move said fingers into the path of said press head above said buck in spaced relationship thereto and subsequently to move said fingers into engagement with a garment on said buck, the center of curvature of said buck being substantially located in said first pivot when said fingers are in engagement with said garment, and means responsive to a predetermined position of said head prior to closing down on said garment for automatically bringing about withdrawal of said fingers along the contour of said buck.

10. In combination in a garment press: a frame, a buck supported by said frame for supporting a garment to be pressed, a press head movable selectively into engagement with a garment on said buck, garment holding means movable from a position outside the path of said press head into an intermediate position within the path of said press head and spaced from the latter and said buck, supporting means supporting said holding means and pivotally linked to said frame for effecting a tilting movement and also an additional upward and downward movement, control means associated with said supporting means to bring about a substantially vertically downward movement of said holding means from said intermediate position to a lower level for engagement with a garment on said press, and means responsive to a predetermined closing stroke of said press head for automatically withdrawing said holding means along the surface of said garment from between said press head and said buck.

11. In combination in a garment press: a frame, a supporting member supported by said frame for supporting a garment to be pressed, a press head movable selectively into engagement with a garment on said supporting member for pressing the same, holding means linked to said frame for performing a tilting movement and an upward and downward movement, said holding means being movable into the path of said press head into an intermediate position spaced from said press head and a garment on the buck, control means associated with said holding means to bring about lowering of said holding means from said intermediate position into engagement with said garment on said buck, first power operable means operatively connected with said holding means for moving the latter into said intermediate position, first valve means manually operable into opening position for admitting actuating power to said first power operable means, locking means operable automatically in response to said valve means reaching its opening position'for looking said valve means in said opening position, second power operable means associated with said press head for bringing about closing operation of said press head, releasing means operable in response to said press head approaching its closing position to actuate said locking means for releasing said first valve means to thereby exhaust said first power operable means, and yielding means associated with said first power operable means for bringing about withdrawal of said holding means from its garment engaging position prior to said press head closing down on said garment,

12. A garment press according to claim 11, which includes shock absorbing means operatively connected with said holding means for slowing down the withdrawal movement of said holding means following withdrawal thereof from the garment on the supporting member.

13. In combination in a garment press: a frame, a supporting member supported by said frame for supporting a garment to be pressed, a press head movable selectively into engagement with a garment on said supporting member, actuating means operatively connected with said press head and operable to convey pressure to said press head while the latter is in engagement with said garment to thereby press said garment, holding fingers movable into the path of said press head for engagement with said garment prior to the engagement of said garment by said press head, at least two spaced holding members having said fingers respectively connected to one end thereof, link means having one end thereof pivotally connected to the other end of said holding members and having the other end pivotally connected to said frame, means operatively connected with said holding members for actuating the same, and means operatively connected with said actuating means and arranged automatically in response to a predetermined position of said actuating means to bring about withdrawal of said holding means from between said press head and the garment on said supporting member prior to said press head closing down on said garment.

14. In combination in a garment press: a frame, a supporting member supported by said frame for supporting a garment to be pressed, a press head movable selectively into engagement with a garment on said supporting member, actuating means operatively connected with said press head and operable to convey pressure to said press head While the latter is in engagement with said garment 0t thereby press said garment, holding fingers movable into the path of said press head for engagement with said garment prior to the engagement of said garment by said press head, at least two spaced holding members having said fingers respectively connected to one end thereof, link means pivotally connected to the other end of said holding members and pivotally connected to said frame, means operatively connected with said holding members for actuating the same, roller means carried by said holding members, cam means connected to said frame for cooperation with said roller means, said cam means being provided with a first ascending cam surface for engagement with said roller means during movement of said holding fingers into an intermediate position above a garment on said supporting member and below said press head, said cam means also being provided with a descending cam surface to be engaged by said roller means subsequently to said holding fingers reaching said intermediate position to thereby allow movement of said holding fingers from said intermediate position into engagement wtih the garment therebelow, and means operatively connected with said actuating means and arranged automatically in response to a predetermined position of said actuating means to Withdraw said holding fingers from said garment on said supporting member prior to said press head closing down on said garment.

15. in a garment press having a supporting member for 11 supporting a garment to be pressed, a press head, and a tiltable supporting arm carrying said press head and operableselectively to move said press head into engagement with a garment on said supporting member for pressing the same: pivot means arranged for limited movement in a substantially vertical plane toward and away from said supporting member, a holding member tiltably supported by said pivot means for selective tilting movement about said pivot means into or out of the path of said press head, said pivot means being movable jointly with said holding member toward said press head, the uppermost end of said holding member being formed by a plurality of spaced flexible holding elements for engagement With the garment to be pressed, and means operable for simultaneously elevating said pivot means and tilting said holding member about said pivot means and for subsequently lowering said pivot means and said holding member to thereby move said elements above References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Kagi Mar. 8; 1932 1,899,891 Davis Feb. 28, 1933 1,980,024 Winnewisser Nov; 6, 1934 2,365,448 Bicknell et a1. Dec. 19, 1944 

